We were warned, repeatedly, last spring that if 2014 promised a bumper crop of NBA Draft prospects, 2013 would be the year of the bummer crop. But, even with those warnings, we could not have known just how bad it was going to be.

Nor could we have known that the saving grace, the one guy who is best suited to redeem the whole class, would be the shoelace-thin Syracuse point guard whose unsightly collegiate shooting percentages had scouts wondering whether he'd ever be an NBA starter.

Michael Carter-Williams (AP Photo)

But Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers just might prove to be good enough to make the '13 draft class worthwhile.

First, a few words on just how bad this group has been. The struggles of No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who has averaged 3.8 points and only got his first double-double this week, have been well-documented. But as a whole, last year's first-round picks have shot 40.4 percent from the field and average 6.1 points. By comparison, 2012 first-round picks contributed 7.5 points per game on 45.2 percent shooting as rookies.

This chart shows a comparison of the past 15 classes, based on qualified rookies (those who play or are on pace to play 35 games or 1,000 minutes).

Draft
year

Players
averaging
10-plus points

Players
averaging
30-plus minutes

Players
averaging
20-plus minutes

Players with
40-plus
FG percentage

Average points,
top 10 rookie
scorers

2013

3

3

9

8

9.1

2012

4

2

13

29

11.1

2011

8

3

17

27

11.5

2010

4

3

13

25

11.1

2009

7

3

16

31

13.2

2008

13

7

18

30

13.9

2007

5

2

12

25

10.6

2006

5

1

9

28

9.7

2005

5

2

16

25

10.8

2004

7

3

13

25

11.1

2003

5

5

13

20

12.2

2002

8

2

16

15

11.8

2001

5

4

15

22

11.1

2000

3

1

9

23

9.5

1999

7

4

13

18

12.4

While the 2013 class has three players averaging 30 or more minutes, which is in line with other classes, there are nine playing at least 20 minutes, tied for the lowest in 15 years. There are three rookies averaging more than 10 points, the fewest since 2000. The average of the top 10 scorers among this season's rookies is 9.1 points, the worst output of any class going back to 1999.

Most telling: Only seven players are shooting more than 40.0 percent from the field, down from 29 last season and fewer than half of the second-worst year (15 in the '02-03 season).

Yep, the class of 2013 is a bummer.

There have some pleasant surprises — Mason Plumlee of the Phoenix Suns and Tim Hardaway Jr. of the New York Knicks. There have been players producing about what was expected — the Orlando Magic's Victor Oladipo, Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke and Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder. There is, of course, the largely untapped upside of Giannis Antentokounmpo.

Carter-Williams is the only rookie to show that he is not too far from stardom — and could benefit further when rookie big man Nerlens Noel returns from his knee injury.

Carter-Williams started his career memorably, winning Eastern Conference player of the week when he averaged 22.0 points, 9.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds in his first three games. He has not maintained that, but his averages of 17.1 points, 6.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds are respectable for any point guard, let alone a rookie.

Sure, the shot is ugly; he hits 39.5 percent from the field, 29.1 percent from the 3-point line. The challenge, though, would be to find a point guard who came into the league without an ugly shot. Carter-Williams has a knack for running a team, for knowing when to dish to a teammate and when to get into the lane himself. He has 700 points in 41 NBA games, after scoring 544 points in 66 games at Syracuse.

"Look at him: 6-6, 180-something pounds," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "A shot like Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook when those two first came into the league, potential for tremendous growth. Go from there."

Well, next would be Carter-Williams' basketball IQ and his competitive streak, both of which impress Brown. It's been difficult to remain competitive as the Sixers circled the drain the past two months, but Williams has.

"He asks highly intelligent questions about other point guards or game situations," Brown said. "There is a quiet competitiveness that I misjudged. I used to give a kick all the time, to say we need you to get going, we need you to get tougher, we need you to lead us. He slowly started doing that. I think that he is slowly starting to understand that. In my opinion, that's the endgame, big-picture for him on how far he can go. Can he embrace the physicality and toughness of the NBA? And I say, yes he can. And so I think his upside is just extremely high."

It better be. For his rookie brethren, things are not shaping up so well. Carter-Williams might be the one who can save them from infamy.